The sad part of Mark of the Beastro’s closure is not that Salt Lake City was doing exactly what our food system still treats as radical: offering compassion on a plate. (“A SLC vegan cafe won’t be coming back. Here’s what the owner plans to do next.”)
Yes, running a restaurant is hard. But the bigger story is why vegan businesses still have to fight the lazy myth that vegan food is “bad,” when the real problem is a culture that normalizes cruelty, then acts surprised when people want something better. A good vegan café is a public service: better for animals, better for the planet, and often better for our health.
Mark of the Beastro clearly built community, creativity and comfort food without exploiting animals. If readers loved the food, the solution is not to mourn the loss and order another cheeseburger. It’s to support the next place that proves vegan means vibrant, not fringe.
Ben Williamson, Torrance, California